What is the best Latin translation for the moto "Passion, trust and respect"?
I have found so far: Amor (passion, love), fides (trust), and ???.
It would be for a wedding ring :-)
I would like to have maybe some alternatives with nuances in the
meaning to choose from, making sure the three words are nouns that fit
well together (grammar, tenses, sense,...) and that there is no bad
hidden meaning. Latin experts welcome :-)
Thanks!

Hello Goldeneye,
I looked for the words in two main sources I already knew: the Latin
Dictionary and Grammar Aid, of the University of Notre Dame; and
Perseus Digital Library. After reviewing all the entries, left aside
those that where not nouns, and among these selected the ones that I
considered more appropriate for your purpose, and made a comment for
each of them.
* Passion *
http://catholic.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/lookdown.pl?passionhttp://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/enggreek?.submit=Redo%3A&options=Sort+Results+Alphabetically&lang=la&lookup=passion&type=exact
>>
amor -oris m. [love , passion, fondness, desire]; meton., [an object
of love, darling]; personified, [Love, Cupid].
appetitus -us m. [longing , appetite]; plur., [the passions].
The option you found. Is a good option, maybe the one. The only minus,
it translates better into "love".
>>
cupiditas -atis f. [eager desire , passionate longing]. Esp.
[ambition; avarice, factiousness, party spirit].
And also "cupido" (see
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3D%2311950
)
I like how it sounds (cupido better than cupiditas), it fits the
meaning, and refers to the picturesque mythical deity of love Cupid.
The cons are that it was also used for "greed", "lust" and "cupidity".
>>
fervor -oris m. [boiling heat , seething, foaming; ardor, passion].
A word included in the modern English lexis, a synonym of "passion",
meaning it also had in Latin, but figuratively derived from its
original significance of "ebullition"
>>
libido (lubido) -inis f. [violent desire , longing]; esp. [irrational
whim, caprice], or [immoderate passion, lust].
Maybe a bit too passionate...;-)
Also, it is reminiscent to its modern use related to "desire" in the
psychology terminology.
>>
voluptas , atis (I. gen. plur. voluptatum and -tium), f. [Gr. elpô, to
hope; root Welp-; cf. volo] , satisfaction, enjoyment, pleasure,
delight (whether sensual or spiritual; syn. oblectamentum).
This would also be a good option, unless you considered it too much
associated to the modern word "voluptuousness", more in the line of
"sensuality".
>>
Interestingly enough, the word "passio" meant "suffering". In time,
the meaning extended to "intense feeling" in a broader sense, which
led to the English (and French) form passion (Spanish "pasión"), all
of them with approximately the same modern meaning.
* Trust *
http://catholic.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/lookdown.pl?trusthttp://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/enggreek?.submit=Redo%3A&options=Sort+Results+Alphabetically&lang=la&lookup=trust&type=exact
>>
fidelitas -atis f. [faithfulness, trust, fidelity].
A valid option, bent to the idea of fidelity.
>>
fides (1) -ei f. [trust , confidence, reliance, belief, faith]; (...)
as mercantile t.t., [credit]. Transf., [that which produces
confidence; faithfulness, conscientiousness]; 'fidem praestare', [to
be loyal]; '(ex) bona fide', [in good faith, with sincerity]; of
things, [credibility, actuality, fulfillment]; [a promise, assurance,
word of honor, engagement]; 'fidem fallere', [to break a
promise];'servare', [to keep a promise]; 'fide mea', [on my word of
honor]; 'fides (or fides publica)', [a promise of protection,
safe-conduct]; hence, in gen., [faithful protection, constant help].
This one was the one you found, and maybe the best option, unless you
preferred to avoid the religious resonance of one of its meanings
?"faith".
fiducia -ae f. (1) [confidence , trust, assurance]; with sui, or
absol., [self-confidence, self-reliance, courage]. (2) [fidelity].
This one is a good option too. You can see that the three words belong
to the same semantic root. While "fides" seems to me the most
fundamental and euphonic, "fiducia" may be the alternative if you
don't want "fides" taken as "faith". However, "fiducia" remains in the
modern English "fiduciary", a concept related to the investment area,
which could also lead to misunderstanding of a different kind.
* Respect *
http://catholic.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/lookdown.pl?respecthttp://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/enggreek?lang=la&lookup=respect&type=exact&options=Show+More+Common+Words+First&.submit=Do+Search
>>
observantia -ae f. [respect , attention].
Respect to the authority, law, religion ?not really your word...
>>
reverentia -ae f. [respect , fear, awe].
This one is closer, but still there's a resonance of submission that
might not fit with the equality expected in a couple.
>>
veneratio -onis f. [reverence , respect].
While conserving some nuance in the same sense as "reverentia",
"veneratio" is closer to your word since it implies affection.
>>
respectus -us m. [looking back]; hence [care , regard, consideration;
looking around one]; meton. [refuge, retreat]. (
http://catholic.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/lookup.pl?stem=respect&ending=
)
Although it is originally a verbal participle meaning "looking back",
a figurative meaning as "not to leave behind", eventually acquired a
noun usage as "care", "consideration", that evolved to the modern word
"respect". This would be my choice.
~~~~~~~~~~~
All in all, these are my primary suggestions:
For passion:
amor, if you prefer to emphasize "love";
voluptas, if you want to highlight the pleasure (both sensual and spiritual).
For trust:
fidelitas, if the core aspect was "fidelity";
fides, if the connotation for "faith" is not an issue for you;
fiducia, if you don't want it to stand either for "fidelity" of for
"faith", and the relation to "fiduciary" doesn't bother you;
For "respect":
veneratio, if you consider that respect implies, so to speak, looking
up to each other;
respectus, if you mean "taking care of", "have consideration for".
So, the possibilities I suggest are:
amor ? fidelitas ? veneratio
amor ? fidelitas - respectus
amor ? fides - veneratio
amor ? fides - respectus
amor ? fiducia ? veneratio
amor ? fiducia - respectus
voluptas ? fidelitas ? veneratio
voluptas ? fidelitas - respectus
voluptas ? fides - veneratio
voluptas ? fides - respectus
voluptas ? fiducia ? veneratio
voluptas ? fiducia - respectus
My top four suggestions:
amor ? fides ? respectus
amor ? fides - veneratio
voluptas ? fides ? respectus
voluptas ? fides ? veneratio
I hope this help.
Wish you the best!
Guillermo

Hello Goldeneye,
I'm glad to have met your expectations. Thank you for the rating and tip.
Guillermo

goldeneye_ch-ga
rated this answer:
and gave an additional tip of:
$3.00

Excellent, what I was looking for!! Thanks for the analysis :-)

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